Fantasia 2011: Interview – Joseph Kahn, Director Of ‘Detention’

Director Joseph Kahn has been directing music videos for two decades, working with big-time efforts like U2, Britney Spears, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, 50 Cent, The Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, and many, many more. Now he’s combined that experience with his love of all things pop culture to create one of the Fantasia Film Festival’s biggest crowd pleasing hits, his sophomore feature, Detention.

Packing in more confounding slang than The FP, and more gonzo subplots than an Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu film, Detention is a speedy reckless high-school horror-comedy made specifically for the YouTube generation. I had the pleasure of sitting down with both Khan and co-writer Mark Palermo to discuss their labor of love, a film financed completely by the director himself. Not surprisingly, Kahn talks like his film: fast and precise, and makes for a great interviewee. Take a listen below. Enjoy!